Conventional push handles attached to the back of bicycles are known and typically include a long bar as disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,338,204; 5,531,494; 6,149,178; or D384,602. These designs, however, typically require that the handle be removed from the bicycle in order to ride it without a user holding the handle. Otherwise, the handle may interfere with the motion and balance of the bicycle. These handles also extend substantially from the frame of the bicycle making it difficult to store the bicycles with the handles still attached.
For further convenience, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,149,178 and 5,303,944 disclose push handles with adjustable lengths for tricycles or bicycles. These push handles are made of two bars where one of the bars telescopes or slides into the other bar. A locking nut is provided at the connection of the two bars to hold them at an adjusted length. The push handles on these designs, however, still interfere with motion and balance of the cycles if the handle is released while a child is riding the bicycle or tricycle. In addition, adjusting the length of the push handle by loosening and tightening the lock nut can be difficult, such as when the lock nut is tightened too tight. This is especially true when it is necessary to maintain a tight grip on the push handle while adjusting the length of the push handle (such as when a child on the vehicle is attempting to move the bicycle or tricycle away from the parent for example).
Known folding or rotating push handles on tricycles are also known. These push handles fold under the tricycle when the tricycle is to be stored as disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,161,847 and 6,663,115. However, the folding of these push handles is cumbersome and requires the lifting or overturning of the tricycle to accomplish the folding of the push handle.
Finally, none of the bicycle or tricycle push handles of the prior art provide a grip that has an adjustable angle relative to the main body of the push handle. Since the angle at which a user's hand extends (relative to the main length of the push handle) comfortably and for the strongest grip varies widely, a grip that is fixed relative to the length of the push handle provides a limited range of comfort and/or force for the user.